


Machina

by NervousAliceCurious



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Body Swap AU, Canon Divergence, Crossbow and Arrows, Gen, More as time goes on..., Sadistic bears, Slow Death, Time is running out, Your favorite can and will probably die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-08-20 02:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16547426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: After the newest class of Ultimates is subjected to a body-swap with no explanation whatsoever. Kaede thinks she's got a clue as to how this might've happened, and all she has to do to fix it is accomplish two impossible things:a: Reassemble an old relic whose pieces could be literally anywhere,and;b: Keep a certain liar from biting the dust when everything's trying to kill him.





	1. The Fallout, Pt. 1

She didn’t wake up in a locker.

No.

Instead, she came back to conciousness in an empty room.

It was cleared of...of something...but she couldn’t remember what. Her head was too full of noise to work properly, and her ears...

Shakily raising herself to one elbow, she felt something wet and warm trickle down her neck.

Blood.

It had to be...

She stared as the ruby droplet left a crimson stain on the neckline.

 Blinked.

Then looked down at the rest of her.

Nasty lacerations tore up and down her arms and legs, and one side of her chest was completely numb.

Slightly alarmed, she carefully stood up.

There was a door with warped hinges nearby, and she started unsteadily toward it.

The absence of that lying...she had to catch up...!

 

 

She’d just stepped out into the hall, when she heard the voice:

_Oh, my..._

_What have you done..._

Turning unsteadily, she saw a tiny, pink bear perched in the doorframe.

It regarded the girl with sympathetic eyes, and held out a miniscule flashlight.

_...I suppose it can’t be helped. It would’ve happened regardless..._

“What...would’ve?”

_Nevermind._

It grabbed her wrist, and placed the pint-sized device firmly in her hand.

_I’m sorry to say that you missed the intro Akamatsu-san, but that’s alright. All you have to do is press that button right there, and you’ll be all set!_

It then furrowed its brow, and huffed.

_Don’t look at me like that! I’m not trying to dupe you or anything!_

_Go ahead!_

_Press it!_

The creature was acting extremely suspicious, and she had half a mind to tell her to approach somebody else.

“Why is this necessary?”

_Because you’ve forgotten something important. Your true identity._

She began to back away.

“I think I know who I am”.

The bear’s expression shifted to one of desperation.

**_Wait!!_ ** _You can’t go yet! You **can’t-**!_

She could.

And she did.

But she didn’t get far.

 

 

 

**_Monotarou!!_ **

**I got you, sis!!**

There was the clanking sound of footsteps.

A blinding flash enveloped her from behind-

 

 

 

_Iruma-san will not appreciate this._

_C’mon, really? You were the one who got me the key-_

_Only because you threatened to make a scene otherwise._

_Yeah, well you’re kind of my last resort at this point._

_Maybe so-_

_You know what? It’s totally fine if you want to back out. I won’t stop you._

_..._

_Really._

 

 

When she woke up again, she was in a classroom.


	2. The Fallout, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroine discovers that she isn't alone around here...

She lifted her head from the wooden surface of the desk.

Her first impression of the room she'd suddenly found herself in, was that it was slowly being reclaimed by nature. Ivy was twisting around the rafters, and completely covering the windows. Her second was that it reminded her of a prison. In addition to the excessive foliage, they were blocked off with bars on the outside and barbed wire on the inside.

Before she could come up with a third, the sound of something bashing into a metal wall issued from close by.

_What on earth was that!?_

...

Ah.

Now she saw them.

Two lockers placed side-by-side.

One of them looked as if it had been smashed open, but the other was still intact. And it was from there that the noises had ensued. As she watched, the banging started up again.

“Oh _come on_!!” Don’t tell me you’re _still_ stuck-!!”

The door swung open as if on cue.

“Wha-!?”

_THUD!!_

One of the lenses in her goggles cracked as she fell heavily to the floor.

“Ugh!! Are you _kidding_ me!?”

She then looked up.

“Uh, who’re you?”

 

Her new companion, a girl with musical-note barrettes and a uniform to match, stood up. “I could ask you the same question, but before either of us does anything perhaps you would appreciate a hand?”

Miu stared at her a moment before taking her up on the offer.

“Thanks”.

“...Is something wrong?”

“Naw!”

She grinned.

“I thought I was looking at a ghost, that’s all!”

She felt an involuntary chill creep up her spine.

“And I _hate_ ghosts with a burning passion”.

The girl carried a hint of...something in her expression that Miu couldn’t identify.

“...Ghost? Whatever do you mean?”

 

At that moment there was a puff of smoke, and five small creatures were revealed.

“Oh, great! What now!?”

 “Aww, she’s not happy to see us”.

The pink one grew teary-eyed.

“How rude”.

The yellow one pulled an abacus almost as big as himself out of nowhere.

“If my calculations aren’t wrong, _she_ should be here too...”

The blue one snapped apart his guitar in annoyance.

“She is, you moron!! Look closer!!”

The red one blinked.

“Huh? You mean it actually _worked_!?”

“What’s he blathering on about!?”

“Monotarou got her from behind, so she wasn’t looking right at it, exactly...”

The fifth, and final green one just sat there. Unmoving.

 “The heck...who are you guys?”

The red one somehow managed to flash a mega-watt smile despite the fact that half of his face was frozen in a perpetual grimace.

“I am so glad you asked!”

 

All five of them jumped into the air as one and struck a karate pose:

“My name is Monotarou, and I am the Leader!”

“My name is Monosuke, and I am the Strategist!”

“My name is Monophanie, and I am the Only Chick!”

“...Monodam...”

“And I’m Monokid, the Wild Child of the team!!”

Random anime lights shone down on all five out of nowhere:

 “Together, we are:

THE MONOKUMARZ!!!”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100+ hits, and 6 kudos!? How!!?? I only literally created this at 4:00 in the morning!! I don't know what to say, I'm so happy!! Thank you so much, everybody!! (:


	3. The Fallout, Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Monokumarz...what exposition do you have for us, today?

“’Monokumarz’?”

Monotarou puffed out his chest with pride.

“Yup! That’s the name of our group! Came up with it all by myself, I did!”

Monokid frowned, and clocked him over the head.

“We _all_ came up with it, dumb-dumb!!”

Monophanie blanched.

“Please be careful! You might break him...”

“I’m not gonna break him! Geez, Monophanie, you’re such a bleeding heart!! It’s disgusting...”

Monosuke clucked his tongue.

“As entertaining as it is to see you guys go at it, we’ve got bigger fish to fry”.

He waved a hand at their reluctant audience.

“You two don’t know why you’re here, right?”

“Um, yeah?” Miu brushed some dirt off the hem of her...?.

“Just as I thought”.

His glasses gleamed.

Her cheeks reddened.

“Allow us to be your welcoming committee at the Gifted Inmates Academy for the Talented!”

“Woo-hoo!”

“Hurray!”

“Heck-yeah!!”

“...”

 

 “Uh, wait a sec”.

She pointed to herself as she spoke, agitation creeping into her words.

“Sorry, I know I’m supposed to be the Super High School Level Astronaut and I’m pretty darn lucky to be one of your Selected and all that, so I really shouldn’t be complaining to you like this, but...Why the hey am I wearing a _girl’s_ uniform? And why do I sound like one, too!?”

She tugged at her short ensemble.

“I don’t even _like_ pink!”

Monokid sniggered.

“Ha! That’s because-!”

His mouth was promptly covered by his siblings before he could properly answer her question.

“Hey, you’re not allowed to spill that! That’s confidential!!”

“Yeah! Daddy will be really angry with you if you go ahead and spoil everything _now_!!”

The blue-toned bear struggled to pry their paws away, grunting in indignation.

“Hmm...hmm!”

 

Monosuke shook his head at his siblings’ antics.

“*Sigh* Such children, the lot of them!”

He then cleared his throat:

“Anyhoo, for the first part of your orientation, you’ll wanna go out and find your fourteen additional classmates, before you head to the gym.

Y’know, get names straightened out and all in time for the grand revealing...”

“ _Huh!?_ What does that have to do with anything I-!?”

“BYE-KUMA!!”

Another miniature explosion of smoke later, and the five of them were gone.

 

Kaede ruminated on what she’d just heard.

_This girl...is not who she appears? I wonder if it’s the same with me? I hadn’t had a chance to check before **they** showed up..._

She walked over to the window nearest the door. Its glass was clean enough to show her reflection despite the vines covering it. On its quicksilver surface she saw:

A young, blonde woman who looked absolutely _nothing_ like him.

 

 

  
  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ready to meet some ultimates?


	4. SHSL, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to find out who's who in this mess!

“Oh no...Oh _crap_ , no...!!”

‘Kaede’ saw a new reflection appear.

That of the girl who had fallen out of the locker.

The ends of her hair were curling in agitation, and her eyes were wider than dinner plates.

“I’ve got to be dreaming! I can’t be a _girl_!! I-I’m not! I’m _not_!!”

“Neither am I”.

She went silent.

“ **What** ”.

 

He smiled despite the questions roaring in his head.

“My name is Shinguji Korekiyo, and I am...I _was_...the Super High School Level Anthropologist”.

 

“Anthropologist?”

 “Yes”.

‘Miu’ squinted at her.

“Huh. Well...”.

She thrust a finger at the ceiling dramatically:

“My name is Momota Kaito, Luminary of the Stars!! I am the Super High School Level Astronaut, and proud!!”

 

Korekiyo laughed softly.

“Ku, ku, ku...You have such enthusiasm. It is truly beautiful to watch...”

Kaito cracked a grin.

“Heck, yeah! I’ve always loved space since I was small! And someday, I’m gonna see it for real! Just you wait!!”

...

Gonta didn’t understand.

Why was the ground closer than usual?

Why was he wearing a lady’s skirt?

And, the most scary of all...

Why was he so... _tired!?_

 “Ugh...I can’t believe this...”

     Next to him was a boy with platinum-blonde hair, and electric-blue eyes. He had on an odd, gray suit and his fingers made a loud, screechy noise when he rubbed his forehead. “Gonta still doesn’t-!” He felt fear creep through him at the sound of his lazy, high-pitched voice. “Gonta doesn’t understand this at all!”

The boy saw his distress, and lightly gripped his shoulders.

“Hey, it’s alright. I don’t get it either!”

He smiled kindly.

 “My name is Akamatsu Kaede, and I’m the Super High School Level Pianist.

What’s yours?”

 

A robot.

That’s what she was now.

She felt her own nerves flare up and immediately squashed them.

She couldn’t allow herself to panic.

Not right now.

Re-focusing her attention on the petit redhead, she saw her swallow hard.

 “Gokuhara Gonta...the Super High School Level Entomologist...”

She stared down at her hands in shock.

“But Gonta doesn’t look like him anymore, and Gonta doesn’t know why!!”

_‘Him’?_

Of course.

On the outside, she looked like a boy even though she was very much a girl on the inside.

Therefore, the girl in front of her had to be a boy on principle.

“Well...I’m sure there must be more students around here. At least, that’s what the Monokumarz said! Maybe one of them will know something!”

...

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one had me practically banging my head against the keyboard. Writer's Block is a terrible thing to have. ): I hope you all enjoy it!!


	5. SHSL, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2/4.

He was _not_ expecting something like this to happen.

He was _not._

Even worse?

“*Gasp*! Oh my word...!!”

A boy clad in a white, raggedy jumpsuit was in the room with him, and he could barely contain his excitement.

“I’m actually _living_ it!! The “Freaky Friday” Flip trope...!!!”

He struggled to understand what was so great about that.

 “You...seem okay with this!?”

He turned to him with flushed cheeks and starry eyes.

“I know I shouldn’t be, but...!!”

His voice cracked.

“I can’t help it!! This is straight out of every anime I’ve ever seen!!”

“’Anime’?”

The stars shone even brighter.

“Yes! It’s where I get most of my inspiration for my costumes”.

“Costumes?”

“Oh, right!” The boy suddenly looked as if he had been struck by something “I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I?”

He smiled.

“My name is Shirogane Tsumugi, and I am the Super High School Level Cosplayer!”

She spread her arms wide.

“I make many outfits, and have access to a lot of materials through many sponsorships, but I don’t like to wear what I make per se...”

He was thrown for a loop by that.

“You _don’t_?”

“No, not really...”

She sighed.

“If I did, I’d just be swarmed by fans who appreciate the outfit, and not the character it belongs to”.

“Oh...”

 

The elegant maid resembled a Meido character, and on one hand she was absolutely thrilled.

On the other, she felt a little miffed that he wasn’t the real deal.

She saw him look down at himself and blush.

 “I’m Saihara Shuichi, the Super High School Level Detective. Although...I know I don’t particularly look like it-“

He blushed even harder.

Tsumugi did a complete 180.

“Neither do I, but there seems to be nothing we can do about it for the time being...”

_Except admire how **perfectly** you capture the spirit of Meido!_

 

He felt uncomfortable.

Why would a human choose to wear such revealing clothes!?

_I could never-!_

 

“So it happened to you too, huh?”

 

“What?”

 

Snapping out of his embarrassment-induced trance, he saw a girl in a robin’s-egg crop-top and skirt standing by the door.

“Hey”.

“Hello...”

Automatically, his hands self-consciously pulled tight the folds of his yellow raincoat.

He could feel the heat return to his cheeks.

“Sorry...!!”

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but was run over by his frantic words.

“I’m not very decent at the moment, and I apologize-!!”

“Hey, hey, it’s fine”.

She raised her hands.

“I’m not going to judge you, or anything...”

He took a deep breath.

“Thank you”.

 

“Like I said, it affected you too?”

The girl nodded.

“If you’re referring to the fact that I am in a body that is not mine, and does not match with my actual gender, then...”

The fushisa already staining her features deepened.

“ _Yes_ ”.

He closed his eyes.

“I knew it”.

He lifted one brunette...braid?

Was that what it was?

“I’m not in the right body either”.

 

She...no, _he_...sighed.

“I guess now’s the part where I introduce myself”.

He held out a hand.

“My name’s Amami Rantaro, and I have no clue whatsoever what my Super High School Level talent is, yet here I am”.

“You don’t know your own talent?”

Rantaro shrugged.

“Yup. Nothing for it, though, so...”

_How awful..._

If he didn’t know his talent, he would be lost.

“I’m very sorry”.

“No, it’s fine, really!”

He brushed some sweat off his forehead.

“You don’t have to feel badly about it, or anything”.

_But I do._

_He’s not going to listen to me._

_I can already tell._

Ah, well.

It was kind of nice, actually, that the guy cared.

At least, he _hoped_ it was a guy.

Messing up his gender pronouns would definitely not go over well.

 

Now it was his turn _._

 “My name is Kiibo, and I am the Super High School Level Robot...”

His face fell.

“Although considering my outward appearance at the moment, I...wouldn’t be offended if you thought that my talent was a falsehood”.

_Falsehood._

What an ugly-sounding word.

But there really was no other way to describe it.

 

“I don’t think that at all”.

 

The ghost of a grin appeared upon his lips.

“Thank you again”.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what it is. I just can't seem to get past that wall in my head!!
> 
> P.S. I apologize if I butchered Tsumugi's character. Tropes are not my strong point.


	6. SHSL, Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3/4.

On the inside, he was...not freaked out, exactly, just...

If he’d had to pick a word to describe the odd churning in his gut, he would have chosen ‘unsettled’.

_I look like I blend in with the wallpaper._

He was a washed-out blue from his stringy hair to his generic coat and skirt.

_The floor’s also a lot farther away than it usually is_.

A wry smile curved onto his lips.

At least he would be tall, for once in his life...

 

“Whoooaa!!”

Angie could only guesstimate at what Kami-sama was thinking when he did _this_.

She was lighter-skinned now, and she wore a loose-fitting, striped shirt and boring, brown pants.

“Angie’s a man! And she didn’t even have to do anything to get this way!!”

“I wouldn’t say it like that if I were you”.

The gloomy guy nonchalantly poked at his glasses.

 “It’s okay, it’s okay!”

She flapped a hand at his warning.

“Angie wasn’t trying to be rude or offensive! Angie was just making an observation!”

“’Angie’?”

“Yeah!”

She beamed.

“Yonaga Angie is her name!! And she’s the Super High School Level Artist, too!”

 

A third-person person.

Great.

“Are you _also_ a Super High School Level?”

As he considered how to answer that question, he took the frames off entirely just to see what would happen.

The whole world instantly transformed into a sharper-than-knives landscape.

_...That’s weird._

Out loud, he (eventually) replied:

“Hoshi Ryoma. I used to be the Super High School Level Tennis Player-!”

 

Angie saw him blanch, and abruptly bite off the end of his sentence.

Quickly, he fumbled the glasses back on.

“What is the matter Ryoma?”

“...It’s nothing” he said calmly but she could easily pick out the beads of sweat.

 

It obviously wasn't nothing.

 

First she was forced to hide her flipping talent from every Tom, Dick, and Harry, and now _this_?

 

Whomever was responsible was going to _die_.

 

All it took was one look at those size-S trousers of hers to make the connection that  _yes_ , she had been remade into a pint-sized caricature of a cold-blooded murderer.

 

A person would've had to have been living in the middle of the arctic to not have heard about the deep-voiced young man known as  _Killer Tennis_.

 

 

_How did they do this?_

That was the most urgent question on her mind, second only to:

**_Why_ ** _would they do this?_

Bandages had replaced her gloves, and a militaristic suit had been put in place of her usual maid’s attire.

Try as she might, she could not come up with a reasonable explanation.

 

“I don’t understand this. Changing us in this way serves no logical purpose”.

Okay...

“...This doesn’t strike you as odd?”

Yes, it did.

She just didn’t feel the need to be as vocal about it.

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

“...My name is Toujou Kirumi, and I am the Super High School Level Maid”.

 

Her golden eyes were peering at her curiously.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this was her best efforts at work when it came to drawing people out of their shells.

_Why am I not surprised?_

_She may not look the type, but she sure as heck acts like it._

Still...

 “I’m Harukawa Maki, the Super High School Level Caregiver”.

 

_It’s not worth fighting a battle of wills over._

...

     A certain dual-toned bear leered fiendishly into the camera as he fiddled with some buttons on the control panel.

Commanding it to zoom in on the group of twelve Super High School students steadily making their way to the chopping block, he began to laugh:

 

**_Upupupupu!!!!_ **

 

**_Only four left to be discovered before we can get this show on the road!_ **

 

 

He looked up and out at the screens of each and every reader who had previously stopped by:

 

 

**_You’d all better be prepared._ **

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you hear that, guys!? One more chapter and this train finally takes off!! I hope you're excited...


	7. SHSL, Pt. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last few students are introduced.

Ughhhh...

She didn’t have enough MP for this...

Not one to care much about appearances (except when it came to her magic), the drowsy student simply stood where she was, in contrast to the frantic movements of her fellow classmate.

“Y-you’ve gotta be kidding me!!”

The voice was surprisingly girlish despite the appearance of whom it belonged to: an eerie, pasty-skinned boy in a baseball cap, and jet-black uniform.

“I...I’ve got a-!!”

Her hands fumbled around a visible bulge in her pants that was steadily increasing in size as the situation she was in gradually dawned on her.

 

She had half a mind to tell her to do that someplace else.

 

The fondler, as if reading her mind, promptly picked that moment to look up.

“W-WHA-!? The heck are you, flatboard!?”

Her hands sprang away from her waistband, and a guilty flush bloomed on her cheeks.

_Laaaa..._

She sighed.

“I’m Yumeno Himiko...the Super High School Level Mage...but most people just know me as the Super High School Level Magician...”

 

This guy had clearly gone and stuck his finger in a light socket at some point in his sorry life.

Why else would his hair be sticking up like a phallic symbol?

He’d also been brain-damaged from the experience because who in their right mind would wear a coat straight out of that prissy, cosmic anime?

It made him look like that dude who was always getting knocked-out.

“What the heck is a mage!?”

Mr. What’sisface let loose that disturbing noise again.

“It’s a title for one who practices real magic, most often derived from occult sources...”

“Oh yeah?”

She didn’t believe that for one minute!

“Prove it!!”

“I can’t...”

_Honestly! Does this kid have to **moan** everything!?_

She felt her breath catch at the thought.

“...I don’t have enough mana...”

The purple-haired guy pouted.

“Ask me later, after I’ve napped...”

_Okay, weirdo..._

 

An awkward silence descended between them.

 

“...Aren’t you gonna ask me what _my_ name is!?”

The ‘mage’, yawned.

“...What’s your name...?”

A crud-eating grin spread across her face.

_Finally!_

“I’m the genius with gorgeous looks, and a golden brain Iruma Miu!! The Super High School Level Inventor!”

“...I’ve never heard of you before...”

“Impossible!! What, do you live under a _rock_ or something!? _Everybody_ knows me!! I’m famous the world over!!!”

The Son of a B* merely shrugged in response.

“If you say so...”

 

 

_My name is Chabashira Tenko, and I am the Super High School Level Aikido Master._

 

She tried to ignore the ham-sized fists that swung at her sides when she walked.

 

_I get excited when girls call me ‘cute’._

 

The way her long, coarse hair lay thickly down her back...

 

_I practice Neo Aikido because it’s the only style of fighting that puts my energy to good use._

 

And the earthy-smelling fabric of her XXL suit.

 

_Finally, I hate men._

_..._

_I **hate** them!_

The lenses of her spectacles clouded as she struggled to keep the panic under control.

 

 

**_So why do I look like one!?_ **

 

 

 

It wasn’t difficult to find, oddly enough.

  All unnecessary locations appeared to be blocked off, making the journey even easier than expected.

_Going to all this trouble to make sure that we will not become lost..._

Korekiyo, somehow at the front of the group of fifteen, lightly opened up the strange-looking grille that served as their final destination.

_I wonder what they have there that we cannot afford to miss._

 

Their sixteenth classmate.

 

That’s what.

 

He was kicking up imaginary dust out of boredom when they finally filed into the gym.

Raven-dark ponytails whipped through the air as the boy in the form of a girl delicately spun on her heel, and smirked.

“Man, you guys are slowpokes!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's coming...The new semester is almost ready to start!!


	8. Headmaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There you are, Kokichi! It's been way too long since I've seen your trolliness in action.

“Slowpokes!?” Kaito sputtered.

“Yeah!”

The student’s red eyes sparkled with mirth.

“Once the bears told me where to go, I went. Some things are just too important to waste on useless socializing am I right?”.

Miu’s hackles raised.

“What’s that supposed to mean, cow-!”

“You better watch what you call me”.

His carefree countenance disappeared in an instant, and the girl found herself on the receiving end of a death glare.

“Hiiii _iii_!! Please forgive me!”

Rantaro spoke up then:

“If you don’t mind my asking, did you have a specific reason for saying that?”

The boy went back to being obnoxiously cheerful in a heartbeat.

“ _Nishishi!!_ Nope”.

“Who even are you?”

Maki could tell just from the way he was _talking_ that he was going to be a handful.

 

Oh.

So they wanted to know _that_ now, did they?

Well alright...

If the masses insisted...

Spreading his arms wide as if he were making a grand declaration, he said:

“I am Ouma Kokichi, the Super High School Level Dictator”.

_“Dictator!?”_

The giant practically glowed with anger.

“No way am I going to bow down to a _men_ ace, especially one as tyrannical as you!!”

Kokichi sighed inwardly.

_Oh, boy._

_We’ve got a misandrist on our hands._

“Hey, relax!!” he said in placating tone.

“If that doesn’t sit well, may I suggest the title ‘ _Supreme Leader’_ instead?”

“Maybe in your _disgusting_ dreams!!”

 

Before he could properly respond to that with the insult it deserved, a disembodied voice boomed throughout the gymnasium:

 

**_Finally!! You’ve all properly met each other!_ **

**_I was going crazy with all that waiting!!!_ **

 

The lights abruptly went out.

 

“...What is this?”

(Kirumi )

“Do not worry, Kami-sama will protect us no matter _what_ happens next!”

(Angie)

“Do-do you really think so!?”

(Tsumugi)

 

**_Thank Mother you hadn’t taken any longer, or I would’ve had to sic my children on you out of boredom!_ **

****

“What kind of lady would want to get down and dirty with _you_!?”

(Miu)

“...”

(Maki)

“Iruma-san, please!! We don’t know who this is, or how dangerous he could be!”

(Kiibou)

 

**_Yeah, listen to the robot! Any nasty cracks about my brood will not be tolerated!!_ **

****

_Who **is** this!?_

(Shuichi)

_Only a **men** ace would do something this twisted!! I just know it!_

(Tenko)

_Please don’t be a ghost, please don’t be a ghost, please don’t be a ghost...!!_

(Kaito)

 

**_Now...where was I?_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

 

_Can we please hurry it up, already...? I needed more MP like, ten minutes ago..._

(Himiko)

_This guy...is something else._

(Hoshi)

_Mayhaps we will simply wait here forever._

(Korekiyo)

 

**_Oh yeeeaahh!!_ **

**_Now I remember...!!_ **

****

_It’s about time._

(Kokichi)

“Remember what...?”

(Gonta)

_If I’m right about what’s coming next..._

(Rantaro)

 

A spotlight shone on the empty stage against the far wall.

As they watched, a monochrome teddy bear flew dramatically up from behind the podium on rainbow-colored angel wings, and landed with absolute grace.

 

**My name is Monokuma, the Super High School Level Headmaster of the Gifted Inmates Academy for wayward youth like yourselves.**

 

He bowed and neatly shed the shining appendages, not fazed in the least by his ‘students’ unnerved stares.

 

“E-excuse me, but-!”

**Let me stop you right there, Akamatsu.**

Kaede felt Tenko bristle in rage at the absent honorific.

“ _HEY!!_ ”

**What?**

“ _You can’t just-!!”_

**Ok, moving on!**

“Why _you_ -!!”

**You all know that you are the only kids in the world that are the experts of your chosen fields, yes?**

“Heck, yeah! What do you take us for, morons!?”

Kiibou stomped on Miu’s foot before she could say anything more.

“Ow! What the-!?”

**Excellent!!**

**That’s all you’ll need to know until somebody dies!**

“H-huh!?”

Tsumugi’s mildly-worried expression turned into one of panic so strong that it surpassed over 9,000 levels in strength!!

**What, did you guys _actually_ think that this was going to be an ordinary school semester even after waking up in those lockers, and meeting with my fantastic, technicolor babies!?**

**Woooow...!!**

**You guys are so _naïve!!_**

Rantaro’s pulse elevated in speed.

_Here it comes..._

**Sorry to burst your idealistic bubbles, toots, but this is isn’t going to be a place for learning...**

**UPUPUPUPU!!!**

 

**It’s a place for** **KILLING!!!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First Chapter starts right now...


	9. Arrow, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rules.

Miu’s face paled even further.

 “The f*!?”

Tsumugi’s voice was quavering in fear.

 “W-why would you say that!?”

**AHAHAHAHAHA!!!**

The bear clutched his sides in mirth, laughing, and laughing...

Kiibou felt...something for once.

It wasn’t good.

“I don’t understand what about this is so funny”.

**_Well_ ** **Island Girl, if you _really_ must know it’s the sheer disbelief on your faces!!**

He wiped his eyes, and re-settled himself on the podium.

**They’re just too hilarious for words!!**

Still chuckling slightly, he continued:

**Anyways, where was I?**

**Oh yeah!**

**Once you enroll in this school you’re in it for the rest of your life!**

Kaede’s antennae stuck straight up in shock.

 “W-what?

Shuichi tried to make sense of this new development, but his grasping hands came up empty.

 “You...can’t be serious...”

Angie’s hand automatically went to her waistband for her trusty paintbrush. It was a thinking habit of hers to tap it against her chin when processing unusual things.

 “But what about school breaks? Surely we would be allowed to go home for those”.

 

**Nope.**

He shook his head.

**Not unless you graduate.**

“’Graduate’?”

Sweat poured down Tenko’s forehead. She had a bad feeling about this. Even innocent words could have nasty connotations as far as _men_ aces were concerned...

**Yup!!**

The bear bobbed back-and-forth in sheer glee.

**That’s right!! The only way to get out of here is to receive your diploma by murdering your fellow classmates one by one!**

An aura of moral indignation began to roll off of Gonta in waves.

 “I would never do something so ungentlemanly!!”

 “Me neither”, Kokichi agreed “Although, you never know. I _could_ be lying...”

“Hey!! Don’t joke about that!”

Kaito merely got a _Nishishi!_ In response.

**That’s what you all say now, but sooner or later, somebody will crack...**

He shrugged.

**They always do.**

 

**At any rate, if you can get away with it successfully, you get to go home.**

“And if not?”

Maki’s obsidian gaze bored into his.

**If not, then you’ll be punished.**

“And what happens to everyone else?”

Rantaro had a hunch about this, too...

**If the killer wins, then everyone dies. If not, they won’t.**

_...I knew it._

 

“Does it ever end?”

Ryoma poked at his glasses, oddly agitated.

**Yes, but only if there are two survivors.**

“And what happens if there aren’t?”

Maki, again.

Monokuma flapped a hand dismissively at her query.

**We’ll deal with that later.**

**For now, what you kiddos need to worry about is how you’re going to do it!!**

**Burning, stabbing, strangling, hanging, I don’t care how you kill just as long as your victim is _deader than dead_.**

Kaede swallowed.

“...What if we don’t want to play along?”

The bear eyed her suspiciously.

**You mean you _don’t_?**

“Yes!”

She spread her arms to encompass everyone around her.

“And neither does anyone else!”

“Yeah!” Kaito cheered.

“Tenko will never bow down to a _men_ ace!!”

“Kami-sama says that we should _love_ not _kill_!”

“Plus, you swapped our bodies without our consent, which is _extremely_ not okay!!”

...

...

...

**I’m sorry Island Girl, but I don’t got a clue what you’re saying!**

Kiibou clenched his teeth.

“You. Swapped. Our bodies”.

The bear smirked.

**_Did_ I?**

“It must have been you” Kirumi said matter-of-factly.

“You are the only one who would have something to gain from switching us up in this manner”.

**Oh, really?**

He tilted his head in mock-confusion.

**And what would that be, exactly?**

 

“A reason for us to soil our hands with each other’s blood: an eternity in wrong life”.

 

The bear blinked.

 

**...That is undeniably true.**

...

...

...

**BUUUUT**

...

...

...

**...I still didn’t do it.**

“Uh-huh, yeah, sure”.

 Kokichi _totally_ believed  _that_...

 

Monokuma sighed.

And yelled:

**HEY!! Kork!**

Despite himself, Korekiyo jumped.

“Hm?”

Suddenly put on the spot, the Anthropologist found himself the target of a rather interesting question.

**You’ve been awfully quiet this whole time.**

**Makes _me_ think you know more than you’re letting on.**

“Me?”

**Yes, you.**

He put his paws on his hips.

**According to your secret wisdom, who was it that swapped everybody’s bodies?**

He looked out at the other fifteen.

**I don’t know about y’all, but I’d like _somebody_ to set the record straight!**

Miu gnashed her teeth in exasperation.

“Dream on Monof*!!”

However.

He had a strange inkling that it really _wasn’t_ that dastardly bear.

But if not him, then whom?

_..._

He deliberated for a moment.

...

_Yes. **She** will do nicely..._

...

****

**_Well!?_ **

The bear tapped his foot impatiently.

**We’re _waiting..._**

Kokichi could practically _see_ the gears turning in the head of his fellow classmate.

_This guy’s up to something._

_But what?_

At last, after what seemed like forever (but was probably only one or two minutes), he spoke:

 

 

“Yumeno-san...this is your doing, isn't it?”

 

 

“...Huuh...?” HImiko perked up at the sound of her name.

_...What’s this about me?_

“You said your magic was real”.

 

"That doesn't mean I did it".

 

"Maybe not, but what other explanation is there?"

 

"H-hey!! Don't go-!!"

“Actually, that kind of makes sense”.

_Shut up Ouma-san!!_

_"_ Yes, yes! Kami-sama agrees!"

_Angie! Why...?_

“Hm. I neglected to think of that. How unlike me...”

_Even **you** , Toujou-san!?_

“S-stop! Stop talking!!

Yumeno-san would never do something like that!

Tenko knows it-!!”

 

But her protests were in vain.

 

The students had spoken, and Himiko was the guilty party.

 

Up on the podium, Monokuma slapped himself upside the head as if that conclusion should have been obvious to him.

  **Of _course!_**

His grin stretched into a demonic parody of a Glasgow smile.

_**Our resident Magician.** _

He leaned back for a split-second, then shot upright like a rocket.

In his paws was a blood-spattered crossbow.

Himiko barely had time to register what he was doing before the sharp, crimson-tipped arrow punched through her flesh, and embedded itself deep into her lung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll only get worse from here...


	10. Arrow, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue effort begins...

“YUMENO-SAAAN!!”

Tenko’s anguished cry rang in her ears as the world spun.

_Hahh...hahh..._

She couldn’t take her eyes off the shaft as it twitched in her chest.

_Ow._

_It hurts..._

She gasped for breath, and was hit with a wave of nauseating pain.

_K-kore...why...!?_

Kaede felt as if she were trapped in a nightmare.

Himiko was there, in front of her.

_Dying._

No one was moving.

No one was talking.

Nothing was happening!

**_Why_ ** _isn’t anyone doing anything!?_

**_Why_** _isn’t anyone saying anything!?_

**_Why_ ** _!?_

"Everyone-!"

 

**Wow, you guys aren’t even going to _try_ to save her?**

Monokuma shook his head in false disgust.

**Man, and here I thought you kids were the best, most-upright citizens this world had to offer.**

At his words, Kirumi felt a scarlet flush creep up her neck.

He was absolutely right.

They needed to act, and they needed to act _now_.

“E-everyone!!”

She began to lightly push back on the students surrounding her.

“If we’re going to save her life, we _need_ to give her space!”

Nobody dared argue.

The situation was too dire for that.

When everyone had backed a good five inches or so away, Kirumi gently eased the shivering, ashen-faced magician down onto the ground.

“If anyone has some extra cloth, or clothing scraps please hand them over. We must keep Himiko warm as well as staunch the flow of blood as soon as humanly possible!!”

That being said, she began in earnest the surprisingly-laborious work of tearing strips from the hem of Shinguji-san’s uniform.

 

Tenko was the first to join her, ripping off her coat so fast, that the buttons went flying to parts unknown.

Then Gonta.

Then Ryoma, and Miu.

In no time, everyone except Kaede had donated _something_ to the rescue effort.

Even Korekiyo.

 

Kirumi then took each piece of fabric, and neatly tucked them in around the edges of the wound.

“It would be a mistake to try to remove the arrow right away, but with vital injuries such as these, we have an hour an most-“

Miu’s eyes widened.

“AN _HOUR_!?”

Kaito’s eyes were almost mirrors of her own.

“ You've gotta be-how long do we have _l_ _eft_!?”

As much as she hated to rely on the Headmaster for such details...

“How much time have we spent thus far?”

**Oh?**

**You’re asking _me!?_**

The monochrome monster shuffled back-and-forth, paws cradling his flaming cheeks.

**Aw, gawrsh!**

**How nice of y’all to think I’m worth talking to...**

“Cut the crap, already!” Kokichi yelled “How much time do we have!?”

The bear ceased acting like an addled teenager, and pouted.

**...You’re just mad that I cheated.**

**You don’t _really_ care about her...**

 

“JUST. SAY IT!!”

 

Tenko’s shout echoed through the gymnasium.

**...**

Her eyes were brimming with tears, and she looked to be on the verge of hyperventilating.

**...**

**You have like, thirty minutes left.**

**Tops.**

“Thirty...minutes...?”

The broken disbelief in Tsumugi’s voice made Kirumi swallow hard.

 “We can still make it _if_ we have access to the proper supplies:

Gauze, a scalpel, some anesthesic, some anti-bacterial-“

**If it ain’t in the storeroom, we don’t got it.**

 

Korekiyo felt Tenko’s gaze burn into him from afar.

“Shinguji-san and Tenko will go get those things for you, if you want".

The maid-turned-first responder smiled weakly.

“Thank you, Chabashira-san, Shinguji-san”.

 

_..._ It would be a miracle if he returned alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to get all the medical stuff right. However, if I botched it, please tell me!!
> 
> Have a nice day, and thanks for reading!! (:


	11. Arrow, Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The showdown you've all been waiting for, and one other that you haven't.

The minute the doors swung shut, Tenko took the lead.

“Follow Tenko, please”.

Her voice was flat, and emotionless.

...Had he simply imagined her hatred for him?

“You had the chance to find the storeroom ahead of time?”

All he got for an answer was a curt nod.

From then onwards, the trip was _silent_.

When she’d led him to a pair of blue double-doors, she paused.

“...You’re not going to enter?”

The Aikido Master clenched her fists.

“...Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

Tenko swung around suddenly, and violently slammed him against the wall.

“Don’t act like you don’t know!!”

A stray tear slid down her cheek.

“ _You put a target on Yumeno-san’s back and now she’s dying-!!!”_

“I merely went with the most logical answer.

I had no idea he was going to punish her for it-”

“ _Really!?”_

Rage blazed in her scarlet-tinted eyes.

“He just told us that we were required to  _kill_ each other!

Why in the heck _wouldn’t_ he resort to something like that!?”

He could feel her hands trembling with barely-restrained emotion.

“...Are you really that stupid...?”

_...Not even an hour has passed, and she has already formed a strong bond toward someone else._

_...Humanity never ceases to show its beauty, even in the harshest of circumstances._

“No”.

He low-key fought to unclasp her fingers.

He could almost _feel_ the bruises forming on his collarbone.

“As I have said, I only implicated your friend because I truly thought that she was the responsible party.

“However, if I’d known that he was going to hurt her to such a severe degree, I would have kept that theory to myself”.

Tenko’s eyes roved over every inch of his features, searching them for any sign that he was blatantly lying through his teeth.

Finding none (as he knew she would), the Aikido Master sniffed, then released him.

“Tenko still won’t forgive you”.

 

Taking a deep breath to center herself, she grasped the door handles with meaty fists, and _pulled_.

Them right off.

_SKRUNCH!!_

“EEEKKK!!!”

“ _YOU!!”_

Tenko dropped the pieces of shattered metal, and snatched up the quivering creature.

“Monophanie”.

A note of desperation was creeping into her voice, and she mentally cursed herself.

_The last thing I want to do is give them ammunition to torment me with!_

“W-what?”

“Where are they”.

“Th-the m-medical t-tools, y-you m-mean?”

“The stuff Toujou needs, darnit!! Gauze, a scalpel, _everything_!!”

The more she spoke, the more the poisoned cocktail of fear, and anger was threatening to explode from within her!

“Okay! Okay...”

The tiny, pink-striped cub was practically drinking her own sweat.

“I-if you ...p-put me...d-down...f-for a few s-seconds...I-I’ll go g-get...th-the k-kit...”

 

“Y’know, you’re not exactly earning any brownie points for this little stunt of yours”.

The bear fixed Kokichi with a suspicious glare.

**Yeah?**

“Yeah”.

The boy clasped both hands behind his back, and leaned in conspiratorially.

“So, how about it, huh? Why don’t you tell me why you did it? I cross my heart and hope to die that we won’t up and rebel on you if you do...”

**I’d have to be _stupid_ to believe that!!**

Monokuma folded his arms, his features scrunched up in annoyance.

**And besides, that’s not something I’ve got the liberty of explaining to you just yet!**

**We need the two stooges back here with all that handy-dandy equipment first!**

“So basically, the shooting of Yumeno Himiko was planned”.

Rantaro’s interjection caught them both by surprise.

“Wait, seriously!?”

**...!**

She shouldn’t have been able to feel her stomach roiling with horror.

Yet she did, nonetheless.

_Someone... **planned** this!?_

The ursine Headmaster uselessly fumbled for something to say that _wouldn’t_ make it seem like he hadn’t seen that coming.

**...That and other questions will be answered _as soon as they get back._**

“BULLCRAP!!” Kaito yelled, getting up from his crouch.

 “You’re gonna tell us right now!!”

He moved to charge the little creature-

“ _NO!!”_

Monokuma’s sly grin collapsed as the robot flung her arms around his midsection!

“Wha-? _Kaede!?_ ”

He tried to shrug her off of him.

“Let me go!!”

“ _Momota-san_ , stop-!!”

Kaede did her best to keep him from squirming out of her grasp, and ended up tangling her legs with his in the process. Feeling her center of gravity shift, she cried out as the two of them heavily fell to the floor.

_CRUNCH!!_

“Oh sh*!!” Miu exclaimed.

 

The Pianist-turned-Robot lifted her head up from where it’d been resting on the nape of his neck, and gasped.

Kaito was face-down on the laminated wood, a puddle of magenta pouring from his nose.

“Oh my gosh...!! I am  _so_ sorry!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How in the world did this ever get to 1,071 hits, and 49 kudos!? And they've only just barely started the first chapter, too!! Thank you so much, everyone!! I love you all dearly!!!! (:

**Author's Note:**

> Here goes nothing... I've been wanting to do something like this forever!!


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